Many times volunteers at the Iowa Games go unnoticed — but not Dave Eilders.

At the Izaak Walton League’s shooting game, the Dave Eilders Memorial Pistol Shoot was dedicated to this longtime volunteer.

Eilders was an Iowa Games volunteer from 1987 through 2003. He was the 1994 Iowa Games Athlete of the Year. Eilders died of cancer Jan. 9, 2004, at the age of 56. He had been in chemotherapy since 1994.

Iowa Games shooting event coordinator William H. Mullan said organizers wanted to do something in memory of Eilders.

“We dedicated the .22 pistol shooting event to him. We thought it would be a good tribute,” Mullan said. “He was the kind of guy that worked and didn’t want any credit. Everyone missed him because everyone liked him.”

Eilders also was the president of the Iowa State Rifle and Pistol Association from 1997-2003. He was a master pistol shooter and Camp Perry competitor and assisted in the development of the Iowa Games air gun range. Mullan said Eilders will be missed because of all the volunteering that he did.

“He did volunteer work at these Iowa Games, the Catholic Church and numerous youth groups,” Mullan said. “He also was a counselor and trained young people to shoot.” The shooting event in the Iowa Games was created by Eilders in 1987.

“The Iowa Games asked us if we wanted to have an international pistol contest,” Mullan said. “Of course we both said we would.”

Last year, Eilders was a competitor at shooting events in the Iowa Games. “He competed last year in the pistol and rifle shoots,” Mullan said. “He ended up winning numerous medals,”

Mullan said he beat Eilders in the .22 pistol shooting event a couple times, but Eilders was really good with a gun. This year, the Eilders family name was still present in the competition.

“Dave’s daughter (Andrea) competed in two events,” Mullan said. “The events were the trap and the silhouette shootings.”

The Iowa Games has 12 shooting events. The divisions included small-bore free pistol, [.22] field rifle, sporting clays, international standard pistol, silhouette, black powder, precision air pistol, trapshooting, shotgun slug, running target, doubles trap and skeet.

For 23-year-old Jake Putney from Forest City, the four events he was involved in were an exciting time. “I competed in the indoor field rifle, slug, silhouette field rifle and the skeet shoot,” Putney said. “I got first in the slug and second in the skeet.”

Putney said he had a good time but wished there were more competition. “More people need to do it to make it more competitive,” Putney said.

“This was fun, and I learned a lot. I learned how to stand and the correct holding position.”